China demands installation of app to monitor minorities

The Chinese government is asking citizens in Xinjiang province to install an app. The app is intended to detect ‘terrorist content’ and searches the files on smartphones. Many Uyghurs live in Xinjiang.

Mashable reports on the app after Radio Free Asia previously published the request to install the app. In it, Android users are asked to scan a QR code and install an app called CleanWebGuard. According to Mashable, the app is called Jingwang. Officially, the app is supposed to “filter terrorist videos and sound files” by detecting and deleting them. The obligation to install would apply to everyone.

Once installed, the app searches phones for md5 hashes of media files and compares them to a government database of “illegal content.” In addition, the software collects data such as WiFi logins, imei and SIM card data and chat logs from apps such as WeChat and Weibo. There would be random checks whether people have installed the app. Representatives from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticized the app to Mashable for being unclear about what data is being collected and because it is an invasion of privacy.

Tensions between the Muslim Uyghurs and the Chinese government have long been rife. A spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, which says it is committed to a political future for the Uyghurs, told Radio Free Asia that the Chinese government is targeting all Muslims with the measures. This also includes other minorities in the region.